Yarn conditioning process and composition therefor



Patented Nov. 18, 1941 YARN CONDITIONING PROCESSAND COM- POSITION THEREFOR James G. McNally and Joseph B. Dickey, Rochester, N. Y.,assig nors to Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey No Drawing. Application December 21, 1938, Serial No. 247,101

14 Claims.

This invention relates to the. treatment of cellulose organic derivative filaments, fibers, threads and the like and more particularly to a method of eliminating the tendency of such materials to accumulate charges of static electricity in twisting, winding and spinning. The invention also relates particularly to the treatment of cellulose organic derivative cut staple fibers to adapt them for the manufacture of spun yarns.

As is well-known, cellulose organic derivative materials, particularly in filament, yarn, or sheet form, are particularly subject to the accumulation on their surfaces of charges of static electricity from frictional and other influences. In the case of filaments and yarns in which the surface area of the material (per unit of weight) is enormously greater as compared to sheets or films, the problem of static often assumes serious proportions. In the manufacture of yarns of various types from artificial filaments, numerous steps in which the yarn is subjected to frictional influences may be necessary, as for example, twisting, winding, warping, carding, combing, drawing, spinning, and the like, all of which operations tend to produce large accumulations of static on the filaments. This is particularly aggravated in the utilization of cut staple, as for example, in the making of spun yarn, since in carding and combing considerable friction is developed and as a result sufficient charges accumulate on the fibers to make the formation of the web difficult, if not impossible; furthermore, even if a web is formed with some degree of success, the subsequent drafting operation produces a very uneven spun yarn or intermediate roving due to the presence of the static charge. In addition, there is the ever-present fire hazard.

Cellulose derivative yarn, particularly in the form of cut staple, is extremely diflicult to handle in the various operations involved in making spun yarn, not only because such material is composed of filaments having smooth, glass-like surfaces without natural kink or irregularity, but also because it has relatively negligible moisture content at normal humidities, as compared to natural fibers such as cotton and wool, makin it inherently far more susceptible to the accumulation of static. The charges accumulating on cellulose derivative cut staple fibers are, under some circumstances, even sufficient to separate the individual fibers a distance of inches, notwithstanding their relatively minute size.

This invention has as its principal object to provide an improved method for the treatment of cellulose organic derivative yarns to reduce other influences. a method of facilitating the handling and employment of cellulose organic derivative cut staple fibers in the various operations involved in the manufacture of spun yarns. Another object is to provide an improved type of cellulose organic derivative cut staple having little or no tendency toward accumulation of static electrical charges. Other objects will appear hereinafter.

These objects are accomplished by the following invention which in its broader aspects comprises applying to cellulose organic derivative yarns either in the form of filaments, threads or staple fibers, an anti-static composition characterized by the presence therein of organic amine and inorganic base salts of organic acids having the general formula:

where R is a substituent selected from the group consisting of substituted and unsubstituted aromatic, aliphatic and hydroaromatic groups, n is 1, 2, etc., and :r is l, 2, etc.

The structure of these salts may be represented by the formula:

where B is a primary, secondary, tertiary or quaternary organic base an inorganic base or ammonia.

The various amine salts of the above men tioned acids may be prepared by any of the known methods for preparing relating compounds. As a rule we prefer to treat the desired amine with a stoichiometric amount of the acid or in certain cases an excess of the acid or amine may be used.

In accordance with our invention the above mentioned amine salts may be applied to the yarn in any convenient manner, for example, by roll, wick, immersion, spraying or the like. Inasmuch as these compounds are soluble in oil they may be dissolved or dispersed in oils such as mineral oil, blown and unblown, drying, and semi-drying vegetable and animal oils, examples of which are light mineral, neats-foot, olive, teaseed, castor, soya bean, rapeseed oils, etc.

In the following examples and description, we have set forth several of the preferred embodiments of our invention, but they are included merely for purposes of illustration and not as a limitation thereof.

Example 1 p-Octadecyloxyethoxyacetic acid difurfurylamine salt is applied to textile materials (silk, cotton, wool, cellulose acetate, viscose, etc.) by means of a bath, wick, roller, spray, etc. to facilitate their knitting, weaving, spinning, and the like. Yarns lubricated with the above type of lubricant are of special value in the preparation of cut staple fibers. These fibers may be oiled before or after cutting. Some of the other amines that we may use are: ditetrahydro furfurylamine, tetrahydrofurfurylamine, cyclohexylamine, p-hydroxyethylcyclohexylamine, an-

iline, morpholine, N-ethylmorpholine, piperidine,

ethylamine, dipropylamine, butylamine, triethylamine, di-e-methoxyethylamine, tetramethylammonium hydroxide, trimethylbenzyl' ammonium o hydroxide, 2-amino pyrrole, 2-aminothlophene,

triethanolamine, ethylene diamine, dimethyle cyclohexylamine, piperazine, etc. sodium, potassium etc., salts of the above-mentioned acid.

Example 2 A conditioning liquid is made up as follows: Parts 8,5-Tetrahydrofurfuryloxyethyl ether 70 p-Oleyloxy-p-ethoxyethoxyacetic acid butylamine salt and applied to textile materials such as silk,

wool, cellulose acetate, etc. as described in Example 1. If the yarn is intended primarily for knitting, the amount of conditioning liquid applied may vary from 4-25% by weight of the yarn and if for weaving, between 1-5% by weight of the yarn.

Cellulose acetate filaments treated as described above are quite soft and pliable and give improved results in various textile operations such as weaving, knitting, etc. and especially in the production of out staple "fibers. In place of the amine used above we may use any of the amines listed in Example 1.

Conditioning liquids particularly useful for the 9 treatment of various types of yarns in accordance with our invention particularly those composed of or containing cellulose acetate, cellulose acetate propionate, cellulose acetate butyrate, and similar organic acid esters, and especially adapted for the deelectrification or anti-static treatment of cellulose organic derivative cut staple yarns are as follows:

Example 3 A conditioning liquid particularly useful on cut staple fibers and which may be used for other textile operations is made up as follows:

Blown neats-foot oil 95 Example 6 Phenoxyacetic acid dipropylamine salt 3 Water 1 5 Blown sperm oil 96 Example 7 Cyclohexyloxyacetic acid triethylamine salt 1- 5 1 Blown teaseed oil 99-95 Example 8 fl-Benxyl'oxy propionic acid piperidine salt 2 Mineral oil Diethylene glycol dipropionate 8 l5 Example 9 Water 80 Gelatin 5 p-Phenylethoxyacetic acid morpholine salt '10 Tetrahydrofurfur'yl tetrahydrofuroate 5 g l Example 10 Water 70 Water soluble cellulose ester 5 25 Z-Thienylamine p-butoxyethoxy acetate 20 Sulfonated castor oil; 5 ma le 11 Cyclopentyloxyacetic acid cetylamine salt 5 3o Blown teaseed oil Example 12 Ethylene diamine dimethoxy acetate 1-20 I Blown olive oil 99-80 35 Example 13 Blown neats-foot oil 99-95 Butoxy acetic acid ammonium salt 1- 5 Any of the above compositions may be applied to the yarn intended for use in circular knitting by means of a bath, 'wick, spray, roller, pad or any suitable means. The amount of conditioning liquid applied may vary between 5-25% by weight of the yarn. Usually, however, the amount of conditioning liquid applied is about 10-45% by weight of the yarn. Yarn composed of cellulose acetate conditioned as described above gives excellent results when used in the circular knitting process.

As will be apparent from the above examples and description the conditioning agents of our invention may be applied by a wide variety of methods. For example, we may employ the agent as an ingredient of the spinning dope from which the filaments are formed, the amount of the agent so employed depending upon a number of factors, such as the particular cellulose derivative used in making the yarn, the solvent or solvent combination used in making up the spinning solution, and the degree of softness or pliability desired in the yarn, etc.

If the conditioning agent is to be applied to the yarn after spinning, this may be done by bringing the yarn in contact with a wick, roll, or felt wet therewith, or the liquid may be applied by immersion, spray, or otherwise. The particular point at which the liquid is applied may vary. It may, for example, be applied to the yarn inside or outside the spinning cabinet, between the guide and godet roll, between the godet or other roll or guide and the point of winding and/or twisting. In some cases, theliquid may even be applied to the yarn after winding onto cones, spools, bobbins, or the like or by the so-called "bobbin to bobbin" method. In the case of staple is applied, the use to which the yarn is eventually to be put and other factors. For example, in a given case where a cellulose organic.

acid ester yarn such as a yarn composed of cellulose acetate, is intended for knitting, about 4 to 25% or more by weight, based on the weight of the dry yarn, may be satisfactory, while if the yarn is intended for weaving, the amount may vary between about 1 and 5%.

Although in the above examples we have referred primarily to yarn treating compositions containing only the conditioning agent and an oil, other ingredients such as solvents, non-solvents, emulsifying agents, blending agents and the like, may be added within the scope of our invention. Likewise, various dyes or other coloring matter may be included in case it is desired to permanently or fugitively tint or dye the material undergoing treatment.

Although we have found it convenient to illustrate our invention by reference to compositions containing specific percentages of the various ingredients, these percentages may vary widely depending upon the particular purpose for which the composition is intended. For example, if it is desired to control the deelectrifying action of the conditioning agent, .the amount of the agent may be adjusted as, for example, by reducing the amount of the agent and correspondingly increasing the amount of oil or other ingredient.

While we have described our invention with particular reference to the treatment of yarns composed of organic derivatives of cellulose such as cellulose acetate, the conditioning agents and formulas described herein are applicable to the conditioning of many other types of cellulose derivative yarns such as those composed of or containing cellulose propionate, cellulose butyrate,

' cellulose acetate propionate, cellulose acetate butyrate, ethyl cellulose, methyl cellulose, benzyl cellulose and others, as well as to the conditioning of silk, wool, cotton, viscose and other natural or artificial materials.

The term "yarn as used herein and in the claims is to be understood as including a single filament, a plurality of filaments associated into the form of a threadfeither of high or low twist, single or multiple threads associated or twisted together, composite threads composed of a mixture of natural and artificial filaments or a composite thread formed by twisting together individual strands of natural or artificial materials, as well as cut staple fibers produced from natural and/or artificial filaments or threads and spun yarn produced from such staple fibers.

As indicated above, the yarn conditioning agents of our invention are exceptionally good solvents for a wide variety of mineral, blown and unblown, drying and semi-drying animal and vegetable oils such as cottonseed, olive, castor, neats-foot, sperm, and other oils. This enables them to be used with any of such oils in making up a variety of yarn treating formulas of varying composition.

The yarn conditioning method and compositions of our invention possess many outstanding advantages. The fundamental and outstanding characteristic of the agents employed in accordance with the invention is their ability to deelectrify yarns, especially those composed of or containing organic derivatives of cellulose such as cellulose acetate and render them amenable to various textile operations, especially operations such as those involved in the manufacture of cut staple fibers. Another outstanding characteristic of these compounds is their exceptional solvent power for a wide variety of mineral, animal, and vegetable oils and their ability to act as lubricating assistants in conjunction with these oils when applied to such yarns. In addition, due to their solubility in water, they may be readily removed from yarns and fabrics by means of the usual aqueous scour baths. By employing the yarn conditioning agents and method of our invention as herein described, one is enabled to obtain highly satisfactory results in the manufacture of yarns and woven fabrics and especially the production from these yarns of closely knit fabrics free from defects such as pin holes, stitch distortion, laddering and the like.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. The method of eliminating the tendency of yarns, filaments or fibers to accumulate charges of static electricity, which comprises applying thereto a composition containing as its essential anti-static component a salt selected from the group consisting of salts of organic acids having the general formula:

where R is a substituent selected from the group consisting of aromatic, aliphatic and hydroaromatic groups; B is a basic component selected from the group consisting of the primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary organic bases, the inorganic bases and ammonia; and wherein n is an integer less than four and a: is an integer less than four.

2. The method of eliminating the tendency of yarns, filaments or fibers composed of or containing organic derivatives of cellulose to accumulate charges of static electricity, which comprises applying thereto a composition containing as its essential anti-static component a salt selected from the group consisting of salts of organic acids having the general formula:

where R is a substituent selected from the group consisting of aromatic, aliphatic and hydroaromatic groups; B is a basic component selected from the group consisting of the primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary organic bases, the inorganic bases and ammonia; and wherein :n is an integer less than four and :c is an integer less than four.

3. The method of eliminating the tendency of yarns, filaments or fibers composed of or containing cellulose acetate, to accumulate charges of static electricity, which comprises applying thereto a composition containing as its essential anti-static component a salt selected from the group consisting of salts of organic acids having the general formula:

where R is a substitutent selected from the group consisting of aromatic, aliphatic and hydroaromatic groups; B is a basic component selected from the group consisting of the primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary organic bases,

where R is a substituent selected from the group consisting of aromatic, aliphatic and hydroaromatic groups; B is a basic component selected from the group consisting of the primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary organic bases,

- the inorganic bases and ammonia; and wherein -n is an integer less than four and a: is an integer less than four, and a textile lubricant.

5. The method of eliminatingthe tendency of yarns, filaments or fibers composed of or containing organic derivatives of cellulose to accumulate charges of static electricity, which comprises applying thereto a composition containing as its essential anti-static component sodium octadecyloxyacetic acid.

6. The method of eliminating the tendency of yarns, filaments or fibers composed of or containing organic derivatives of cellulose, to accumulate charges of static electricity, which com-. prises applying thereto a composition containing as its essential anti-static component dimethylcyclohexylamine salt of butoxyacetic acid.

7. The method of eliminating the tendency of yarns, filaments or fibers composed of or containing organic derivatives of cellulose to accumulate charges of static electricity, which comprises applying thereto a composition containing as its essential anti-static component dimethyl-- cyclohexylamine salt of p'-ethoxy-p-ethoxy-fiethoxyacetate.

8. Textile yarns having a lessened tendency to accumulate charges oi static e]eCtl'iCitY,S8id yarns containing a salt selected from the group consisting of salts of organic acids having the general formula:

where R is a substituent selected from the group consisting of aromatic, aliphatic and hydroaromatic groups; B is a basic component selected from the group consisting of the primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary organic bases, the inorganic bases and ammonia; and wherein 12 the group consisting of salts of organic acids having the general formula:

where R is a substituent selected fromthe group consisting of aromatic, aliphatic and hydroaromatic groups; B is a basic component selected from the group consisting of the primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary organic bases, the inorganic bases and ammonia; and wherein 71 is an integer less than four and :c is an integer less than four.

l0. Textile yarns composed of or containing cellulose acetate having a lessened tendencyto accumulate charges of static electricity, said yarns containing asalt selected from the group consisting of salts of. organic acids having the general formulaz I R [o-(cH,),.l,--c :'on-B where R is a substituent selected from the group consisting of aromatic, aliphatic and hydroaromatic groups; B is-a basic component selected from the group consisting of the primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary organic bases, the inorganic bases and ammonia; and wherein n is an integer less than four and a: is an integer less than four.

11. Textile yarns composed of or containing cellulose acetate having a lessened tendency to accumulate charges of static electricity, said yarns containing a salt selected from the group consisting of salts of organic acids having the general formula:

where R is a substituent selected from the group consisting of aromatic, aliphatic and hydroaromatic groups; B is a basic component selected.

, from the group consisting of the primary, secis an integer less than four and a: is an integer less than four.

' 9. Textile yarns composed of or containing organic derivatives of cellulose having a lessened tendency to accumulate charges of static electricity, said yarns containing a salt selected from ondary, tertiary and quaternary organic bases, the inorganic bases and ammonia; and'wherein n is an integer less than four and :c is an integer less than four, and a textile lubricant.

12. Textile yarns composed oi or containing organic'derivatives of cellulose having a lessened tendency to accumulate charges of static electricity, said yarns containing sodium octadecyloxy acetic acid.

13. Textile yarns composed of or containing organic derivatives of cellulose havinga lessened tendency to accumulate charges of static electricity, said yarns containing dimethyl cyclohexvlamine salt of butoxyacetic acid.

14. Textile yarns composed of or containing organic derivatives of cellulose having a lessened tendency to accumulate charges of static electricity, said yarns containing dimethyl cyclohexylamine salt of ,8-ethoxy-fl-ethoxy-fi-ethoxyacetate.

JAMES G. McNALLY. JOSEPH B. DICKEY. 

